Werner Herzog & Jerry Weintraub Present

RED ARMY

A Film by Gabe Polsky

ON BLU-RAY™ AND DIGITAL HD

Synopsis

From Oscar® nominated and Emmy award-winning filmmakers, RED ARMY is a feature documentary about the Soviet Union and the most successful dynasty in sports history: the Red Army hockey team. Told from the perspective of its captain Slava Fetisov, the story portrays his transformation from national hero to political enemy. From the USSR to Russia, the film examines how sport mirrors social and cultural movements and parallels the rise and fall of the Red Army team with the Soviet Union.

RED ARMY is an inspiring story about the Cold War played out on the ice rink, and a man who stood up to a powerful system and paved the way for change for generations of Russians.

The Director

Gabe Polsky co-directed and produced the award winning and critically acclaimed The Motel Life, starring Emile Hirsch, Dakota Fanning, and Stephen Dorff. Additional producing credits include: Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, which was named in over 40 top-ten lists of the Best Films in 2009; His Way, an Emmy-nominated documentary released by HBO in 2011; and Little Birds, which was named among the top ten independent films of 2012 by the National Board of Review.

Polsky is adapting the novels Butcher's Crossing by John Williams, and National Book Award winning Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien. Other notable projects in development include critically acclaimed novels Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes, to be produced at Sony as a starring vehicle for Will Smith; and The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. Polsky has also secured the life rights to Albert Einstein as well as to surfing legend Dorian Doc Paskowitz and his family.

Making Red Army provided an opportunity both to explore my heritage and to examine the impact hockey had on the culture, politics and legacy of the Soviet Union.

I was born and raised in the United States by Soviet immigrants who seldom spoke about their past. I got my first pair of skates at age six, and played competitively throughout my youth, ultimately for Yale University. Training in the U.S. was focused on winning rather than player development. Practice was often basic and redundant. Coaches only paid attention to the standout players who scored the most goals.

When I was 13, I moved to a team that hired a new coach from the Soviet Union. Like most American kids, all I knew about Soviet hockey was the country's storied loss to the U.S. in the 1980 Olympics. The coach's philosophy and training methods were rigorous and unusual: we were forced to walk on our hands and do somersaults on the ice; we carried tires and skated with teammates on our backs. Perhaps the biggest difference was that he encouraged creativity and taught us to think as a unit. Many in the Chicago hockey community didn't take him seriously. But he transformed my entire concept of the sport. I tracked down old Soviet hockey footage and what I saw was eye-opening. Soviet hockey was amazingly creative and improvisational. The Soviets moved fluidly, like one body, and it looked more like an art form than a game. That's how I wanted to play.

When I was at Yale, I studied politics and history and learned about the unusual role sport played in the Soviet Union. The Red Army team was designed as an instrument of propaganda to prove the superiority of the Soviet system. The country's investment in the team's success was massive. The demanding lifestyle and oppressive circumstances under which the players trained were a reflection of broader Soviet society. It became clear to me that the Red Army's style of play, too, was significantly informed by the country's ideology. Much like Communism, there was little emphasis on the individual. Those who became heroes earned as much money as teachers. Priority was placed on serving your teammates and your country, and expressing individuality or questioning authority was forbidden.

Today's Russian leadership is comprised both of devoted fans of the Red Army team and of the players themselves. To understand the history of the team and the era is to understand much about who makes decisions in Russia today.

Red Army is about how an incredibly oppressive system produced one of the greatest teams in history. That success came with tremendous personal costs. My intention in making this film is to honor the Soviet struggle and to celebrate the art that emerged from such a charged and unique time in history.

Gabe Polsky co-directed and produced the award winning and critically acclaimed The Motel Life, starring Emile Hirsch, Dakota Fanning, and Stephen Dorff. Additional producing credits include: Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, which was named in over 40 top-ten lists of the Best Films in 2009; His Way, an Emmy-nominated documentary released by HBO in 2011; and Little Birds, which was named among the top ten independent films of 2012 by the National Board of Review.Polsky is adapting the novels Butcher's Crossing by John Williams, and National Book Award winning Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien. Other notable projects in development include critically acclaimed novels Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes, to be produced at Sony as a starring vehicle for Will Smith; and The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. Polsky has also secured the life rights to Albert Einstein as well as to surfing legend Dorian Doc Paskowitz and his family.

Making Red Army provided an opportunity both to explore my heritage and to examine the impact hockey had on the culture, politics and legacy of the Soviet Union.I was born and raised in the United States by Soviet immigrants who seldom spoke about their past. I got my first pair of skates at age six, and played competitively throughout my youth, ultimately for Yale University. Training in the U.S. was focused on winning rather than player development. Practice was often basic and redundant. Coaches only paid attention to the standout players who scored the most goals.When I was 13, I moved to a team that hired a new coach from the Soviet Union. Like most American kids, all I knew about Soviet hockey was the country's storied loss to the U.S. in the 1980 Olympics. The coach's philosophy and training methods were rigorous and unusual: we were forced to walk on our hands and do somersaults on the ice; we carried tires and skated with teammates on our backs. Perhaps the biggest difference was that he encouraged creativity and taught us to think as a unit. Many in the Chicago hockey community didn't take him seriously. But he transformed my entire concept of the sport. I tracked down old Soviet hockey footage and what I saw was eye-opening. Soviet hockey was amazingly creative and improvisational. The Soviets moved fluidly, like one body, and it looked more like an art form than a game. That's how I wanted to play.When I was at Yale, I studied politics and history and learned about the unusual role sport played in the Soviet Union. The Red Army team was designed as an instrument of propaganda to prove the superiority of the Soviet system. The country's investment in the team's success was massive. The demanding lifestyle and oppressive circumstances under which the players trained were a reflection of broader Soviet society. It became clear to me that the Red Army's style of play, too, was significantly informed by the country's ideology. Much like Communism, there was little emphasis on the individual. Those who became heroes earned as much money as teachers. Priority was placed on serving your teammates and your country, and expressing individuality or questioning authority was forbidden.Today's Russian leadership is comprised both of devoted fans of the Red Army team and of the players themselves. To understand the history of the team and the era is to understand much about who makes decisions in Russia today.Red Army is about how an incredibly oppressive system produced one of the greatest teams in history. That success came with tremendous personal costs. My intention in making this film is to honor the Soviet struggle and to celebrate the art that emerged from such a charged and unique time in history.Gabe Polsky

"Electrifying!Illuminating and hugely entertaining. An eye-opener."

"Grade A! Enthralling!"

"A smart, energetic film. It's downright droll."

Joe Morgenstern, WALL STREET JOURNAL

★★★★(Highest Rating)"Emotionally charged and viscerally exciting"

Godfrey Cheshire, ROGEREBERT.COM

"Riveting and important. So Witty, So determined, so principled, so wise. It's a window not just into the world of elite athletes, but also into the Cold War - it's oppression, its defections, its KGB trickery, its era of indefatigable distrustbetween them and us."

Lindsay Moran, HUFFINGTON POST

"Fabulous, compelling, relevant. A sports doc for people who don't give a damn about sports."

Jason Gorber, Twitch Film

"Unbelievable-but-true. This playful, poignant film presents a human story that transcends decades, borders and ideologies."

Mary & Richard Corliss, TIME

"A stirring, often infuriating tale of personal dreams clashing with political imperatives."

Justin Chang, Variety

"Gabe Polsky has made a smart and incisive film about an important moment in the history of a now fallen empire, and he happened to make it wildly entertaining as well."

"Gabe Polsky's doc is outstanding. [It] left me floored. It's an engaging, entertaining, fascinating look at a turbulent time in history, and an inside look at the internal workings of the USSR."

Photo Gallery

Slava Fetisov

Viachaslav Fetisov - aka Slava Fetisov - is among the Soviet Union's most-decorated athletes, and is considered one the best hockey players of all time. He was the long-time captain of the Soviet Union's Red Army team, won seven world championships, two Olympic gold medals, and three Stanley Cups. He was a two-time NHL All Star and played for the USSR First All-Star Team nine times. He was one of six players voted onto to the International Ice Hockey Federation's Centennial All-Star Team and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001.

In the 1980s, Fetisov was instrumental in breaking the barrier that prevented Soviets from playing abroad. He was the first Soviet citizen to be granted a visa that allowed him to play hockey in the west. Fetisov's efforts paved the way for thousands of Soviet and European players to play hockey in America.
After retiring as a player, Fetisov embarked on a political and executive career. He is currently a member of the upper house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, and was instrumental in bringing the XXII Olympic Winter Games to Sochi, Russia. Fetisov is president of the professional Russian hockey Club HC CSKA Moscow, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kontinental Hockey League, and chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency Athletes Committee. He was also Minister of Sport in Russia from 2002 to 2008.

Churchill warns that Soviet domination in Eastern Europe has created an "Iron Curtain"Stalin warns that war is inevitable as long as capitalism exists (denounced in US as "declaration of World War III")

Soviet author Boris Pasternak wins the Nobel Prize in Literature for Doctor Zhivago, but
declines the honor under intense pressure from Soviet authorities

1960

Soviets win Olympic bronze medal in hockey, after losses to US and Canada

1961

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes first man in spacConstruction of Berlin Wall cuts off West Berlin from the rest of West Germany

1962

USSR boycotts World hockey championships in Colorado to protest exclusion of East
German team (part of political fallout from Berlin Wall)Cuban Missile Crisis - placement of Soviet medium and intermediate-range missiles in Cuba triggers a two-week crisis that threatens a US-Soviet nuclear war

1963

Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes first woman in spaceSoviet hockey teams wins first in record string of world and Olympic hockey championships

1964

Soviets win Olympic hockey gold medal at InnsbruckKhrushchev ousted as head of USSR; replaced by a collective leadership from which
Leonid Brezhnev eventually emerges as the new Soviet leader

1968

Soviets win Olympic hockey gold medal at Grenoble

1972

Soviets win Olympic hockey gold medal at SapporoCzechoslovakia wins world ice hockey championship, ending Soviet streakAnatolii Tarasov, the architect of Soviet hockey power, is ousted from his positions as coach of Central Army club and the national teamCanada-USSR Summit Series matches Soviet national team against Canadian pros for the first time ever

1974

Soviet national team defeats WHA all-stars in second Canada-USSR series involving
Canadian pros

1976

Soviets win Olympic hockey gold medal at InnsbruckUSSR national team suffers stunning upset loss to Poland at world championships in
Katowice, Poland and finishes second; this is just the second time since 1961 that a Soviet team fails to win a world tournament at which it competesFirst Canada Cup tournament - national teams from USSR and Czechoslovakia, pros
from Canada and U.S., best players from Sweden and Finland compete. Canada wins tournament, USSR finishes disappointing third

1977

After third place finish by USSR at world hockey championships, Viktor Tikhonov is
hired from Dynamo Riga to coach both the Central Army club and the national team

1980

Soviets win silver medal in hockey at Lake Placid after stunning upset by U.S.